Zell's Birthday
by Delta Immortal
Summary: Vividarium et Intervigilium et Viator.... shonnen ai.


Disclaimer: I don't own Zell, Seifer, or the drinks. (really.) Viator was based off of the wonderful painting in Ultimacia's castle.

Warnings: Shonnen-ai. Levitation can be male or female, it doesn't matter. The exits have been closed off, kids, so don't worry about saving yourself if this ship sinks. Just crash and burn with me.

Comments: This one makes me snuggly inside. No sad ending. I think. It's been a while since I've written a happy one, so bear with me.

………………………………………

The boy was sleeping peacefully, having finally drifted asleep for a time period that was deemed necessary. The visitor smiled to himself. Not a boy, he reminded himself, a man, freshly awakened into adulthood from their pods.

Wait…humans didn't have pods, did they? The visitor sighed; he never understood humans in that way. He slithered around the bed gently, gliding over arms and legs that he had seen firsthand attack his kin and destroy them. The man was now locked in his bed, and the day was almost over.

"**Dincht**," came his voice, old an ancient. The blonde man tried to stretch. The visitor smiled, his short, stubby arms barely managing to cross themselves. His dragon-like face smirked- though no human would know, save for the ones who grew up around his kind- and his beady red eyes flared. Blue eyes met his, reminding him of his beloved Levitation, and the man tensed up, obviously frightened.

The visitor laughed. He had that effect on people. Perhaps he would not slither into the next visitor's bed. "**Dincht**," he stated again. "**Zell Dincht, I have a message for you**."

Zell gave off a whimpering sound, and the massive dragon-snake unfolded his wings, his tail stroking off hair from the man's face. "**Be calm**, **Dincht. I give many messages**." Zell nodded and the dragon released his tight hold, enough for Zell to move his arms. "**It was requested this message be given to you on the night of your birth anniversary, when you had just fallen into slumber**."

Zell found he could sit up and did so, slightly touching the tail. "Who are you?" he asked, and the dragon then folded its wings, slithering up to his face and around it.

"**Viator**," came the reply. Zell shivered as the dragon returned to its place, above his bed. "**This message was recorded a year ago**,** by a superior of yours in age**."

Zell blinked. "Who?" he asked, and Viator smiled silkily, wings opening to allow light to shine between them. Zell turned to look as a version of Seifer sat on his bed.

"Hey, Zell." Zell flinched at the words, and Seifer smiled, touching his face. "You're eighteen, huh? Feel special? Older? Do you feel like you're completely different?"

Zell shook his head to find his head went through the arm. This was like a hologram. Seifer chuckled, smiling softly. Zell backed away as much as he could; something was completely wrong with Seifer, looking like he cared. This was low for Seifer, low for him to give him a message late at night with no one to protect him. What was Seifer going to say now?

"It's one of those lies they tell you. One of those lies, like these exams matter and Cid's in charge. I think sometimes they keep secrets from us, like who is destined for what. Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be destined for things?"

Zell's thoughts stopped. Seifer continued. "I think you're one of those people. I think, even if you don't seem to, you'll be a good SeeD. You're honest, you're kind." Seifer turned serious. "But it'd be pointless to tell you this without your faults. You need to think before you rush into things, Chicken. Before you buy a T-board you've got to remember that its confiscated material, no matter who owns it. You've got to sort things out if you ever want to be a good SeeD. And you will be a SeeD."

Zell was silent, and the dragon-tail forced him down flat on his back. "I know you'd never give me the time of day," Seifer told him, "But I want to tell you congratulations. If you just think, you'd be one of the best SeeDs ever."

Viator watched as the boy reached out a hand to the man who was not there. Humans were silly at times, and it almost made him chuckle. Oh, was the man upset? Were those tears? Viator kept down chuckle, not letting it see the night, and that was why he was the messenger. The man had forgotten his presence, and that's what made Viator him the messenger.

"So… Happy Birthday, Zell," Seifer told him, and leaned down for a kiss. The message faded into little dust segments of light; in the darkness the messenger could see the boy had tried to kiss the man back. The dragon allowed his body to unwrap around the boy, coiling into the shadows. The man was shaken; understandably so. Viator had often seen from his statue-home that the older man would constantly tease the younger man. What the younger man did not see was that the older man would also find the younger man in his dreams; and there the two were hardly ever fighting.

"Viator?" came the quiet statement and the dragon turned to the boy-man, watching as Zell's face grew into rage. "I want to send a message back." He stood up.

"**I do not know where he is**. **I only live in Garden**." Viator waited to see if the man would call his bluff. This was part of the tests the short man would go through, to see if he was worthy of sending a message.

"Bull," the martial artist replied, using the same words the one with the fire-crosses had told him a year ago. Viator was amused, and he curled his body around Zell. The fighter struggled and Viator loosened his grip. But suddenly the man was still, and Viator let his pores absorb the form of the man, let his sweat define the color, and his glands absorb the texture. This man, he realized, was quite built, and quite difficult to mimic. However, there was no better messenger than he; he had given messages across the great battles of the Centra, to his lord Bahamut and his lover Levitation, and could even boast accurate messages from the great god Hyne.

The dragon then released the man as he spread his wings, letting this blonde, in the nightshirt, replace the one in his head.

"**I shall find him**."

…………………………

Seifer placed a bottle of Anacondaur liquor in the shelf. It had been a late night, and he didn't feel like drinking the fermentation now. Raijin had read somewhere that fermented Anacondaur made an excellent liquor, but it had been tough to kill and Seifer didn't really feel like digesting the thing now. Krakka was his drink of choice, a light, fluffy drink that didn't make a person worry about hangovers. It helped him sleep, even lightly, and there weren't bad dreams when he drank it. He held up the cup in honor of the martial artist that wasn't there, and drank it quickly. The glass was placed in the sink.

He drifted into his bed, completely tired. It hadn't been an exceptional day, and the only bright side was that his Zell was eighteen. He flopped into the bed.

The dragon appeared through the shadows, amused at this new place. It was shabby, it was tiny- his body could hardly fit- and he watched with beady red eyes as the man saw him and flapped a hand over his face. "He got it, huh?"

"**I have never been unsuccessful**," Viator told him, arching out his wings. "**Almasy**,** Seifer Almasy**,** you have a message**."

Seifer moved his hands. "All right. Am I supposed to be asleep or standing up?"

"**The position you are at will suffice**." The dragon allowed the dust of light to echo through the room and Seifer could see Zell, hair rumpled from lack of sleep, eyes blurry as he spoke, slightly confused.

"Thank you, Seifer," Zell told him, leaning over him and giving him a return kiss. "I hope we'll see each other soon."

Seifer grinned as he held the blonde's hand, knowing the blonde wasn't there. "You know it," Seifer told the image as it faded.

Viator scoffed as he returned to the shadows and entered his statue-home, folding his wings as he wrapped around himself. Humans were silly creatures.

…………………………

End.

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Author's comments: Yay! There's a happily ended piece for once! Ummm…I think it was happy. I'm pretty sure it was happy. Were there odd spots of dissatisfiedness in your bowels? Too bad for you.

The drinks actually do appear in the game, but the Anacondaur liquor is only mentioned in an old book. Yay for accuracy!

Happy March 17, everybody! This will be my last update for a while, and thanks for reading! I promise I'll come back with several new ideas!


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